Energy storage refers to the process of storing electrical energy through media or devices and releasing it when needed. According to the storage and conversion forms of energy, it can be divided into physical energy storage and chemical energy storage. Physical energy storage mainly includes pumped storage, gravity storage, compressed air storage, and flywheel storage; Chemical energy storage mainly includes lithium-ion batteries, sodium ion batteries, flow batteries, lead-acid batteries, etc.
In recent years, the installed capacity of distributed photovoltaics has grown rapidly, but photovoltaics have randomness and volatility, posing challenges to the quality and balance of electricity in the power grid. Energy storage can be charged and discharged as needed to achieve smooth new energy output, increase the proportion of photovoltaic electricity consumption, respond to grid demand, and increase revenue through peak shaving and valley filling. Therefore, energy storage has become a necessary component of virtual power plants, smart microgrids, and new power systems.
The construction of distributed photovoltaics and energy storage on the load side can create a small microgrid system that can be turned off in the event of power supply anomalies such as power restrictions or outages, ensuring important or basic load demands for users. Distributed photovoltaic energy storage is beneficial for reducing the construction cost of energy storage systems and helping users save energy consumption costs and investment costs of other power equipment.
Distributed photovoltaic energy storage can be combined with scenarios such as electricity sales, charging, swapping, and load management to achieve integrated development of user side “source grid load storage”, achieve energy self coupling within the region, facilitate the combination of multiple energy strategies, maximize the utilization of new energy and reduce energy cost capital, cultivate new business models in new scenarios, and promote high-quality development of energy consumption.